Toxic
by Lynn DiNozzo
Summary: As the team is looking for evidence in a thickly wooded forest, Ziva strangely becomes short of breath and nearly unable to walk. Will they get her to the hospital in time? What happened to her? How is Tony going to take this? Read and find out!


"Come on, come on," Ziva urged to the elevator as it was close to reaching her floor.

Her alarm had failed to go off that morning after a long case the night before that hadn't been wrapped up until nearly 3 am. When she had finally woken up and rolled out of bed, she nearly screamed when the clock read 9:30 am. She had never been late to work under these circumstances and never more than two hours.

Ziva had completely missed breakfast, so on her way to work she bought a salad at a drive thru then showed off her famous driving skills trying to get to work as fast as possible.

Once the elevator finally reached the office floor, she ran off of it and sat down at her desk as quickly as possible, not even checking to see if anyone was in the bullpen. To her relief, only McGee was sitting at his desk obviously doing something pertinent to a case.

Tim looked up at her for a few moments then walked over to her desk. "We were worried about you," he stated with a caring tone. "You wouldn't answer your phone. Where were you?"

Dropping her backpack on the floor and putting her makeshift breakfast on her desk, she let out a sigh, happy to finally be where she needed to be. "My alarm did not go off and my phone was on vibrate. I suppose after such a long night I was just very tired." After pausing for a few moments, afraid to ask the inevitable she looked around the room. "Where are Gibbs and Tony?"

Shifting his gaze to the catwalk he nodded his head towards it. "MTAC. They're briefing Vance on our new case."

Ziva shut her eyes, kicking herself once again for not waking up on time. "Do I even want to know how much I missed this morning?"

McGee shrugged his shoulders. "Probably not, but Gibbs will have wanted you to have been briefed."

Letting her head fall back as she rubbed her neck, she situated herself then nodded. "Okay, lead on, MacDuff."

Tim chuckled. "Nice MacBeth reference, Ziva! It's nice to hear something besides movie references. Alright, to the case. This morning, almost right when Tony and I got here, Gibbs got a call for us to go to Anacostia, dead marine. You know the drill. We don't know much except the victim's name is David Myers, etcetera. His girlfriend is on her way in, I believe her name is Lydia," he added. "When Gibbs first called her he said she was talking about going to check 'his spot'. Apparently he liked to go down to a favorite fishing hole surrounded by a thick forest. I guess that's the kind of place I would want to go as well if I wanted to think."

After taking in the details of the case, Ziva nodded. "Yes, I remember when I was a child I would spend my afternoons there after training in the woods. I loved to spend the time just thinking. It ended up being the only time I ever remember being alone," she recalled with a faint smile crossing her face.

That smile was quickly wiped off when she noticed Gibbs and Tony coming down the stairs and to their desks. When Tony laid eyes on his partner his shoulders noticeably sagged a bit, relieved that she was okay. Gibbs' expression, however, was not as welcoming. He gruffly passed by Ziva's desk, dropping the case's file onto her desk. "Better read up on the way, David."

Ziva cocked her head to the side. "Where are we going?" she asked, grabbing her backpack along with Tony and McGee.

"No, McGee," Gibbs said, causing the agent to put his gear back by his desk. "You're staying here to interview the girlfriend."

Ziva hurriedly stuffed her salad into her backpack, hoping to be able to eat it on the way then grabbed the case file to brush up on any details McGee missed.

* * *

On the way to Myers' spot in the woods, Ziva was busy catching up on the case while it seemed like Gibbs was trying to hit every bump in the road. Even though they weren't in the crime scene van and in their own Charger, Ziva was doing her best to stay focused on the task in front of her. She wasn't one to get carsick but without anything in her stomach she was wondering if that would change rather quickly.

She had hoped to get her breakfast in on the way, but she knew right when she ate something it would end up coming back out anyway. While Ziva had been busy concentrating on the file, Tony had been sitting in the passenger seat watching her intently by stealing glances through the rearview mirror. He had offered her to sit up front but he could understand her answer knowing she'd have to sit next to Gibbs. Tony knew it really wasn't her fault she was late, he would have overslept as well if it hadn't been for a dog barking right outside of his window.

Only minutes after Ziva had finished reading the file, Gibbs pulled up to the outskirts of the thickly wooded forest. She figured Myers had been the only one to go into it in years considering how overgrown it was. As the team got out of the car and grabbed their gear, Ziva looked around the area and was surprised at just how secluded everything was. She couldn't imagine just how quiet it was deep into the forest. "_No wonder Myers liked this spot",_ Ziva figured.

Gibbs was walking by Ziva as she was fiddling around in her backpack and squatted down beside her. "Ziva, what happened this morning?"

Letting her shoulders sag she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I overslept and my phone was on vibrate. After the long case last night I was just tired. I am so—"

Gibbs shook his head, quieting her. "You know what I say about apologies, David."

When she was about ready to close her backpack something caught his eye. "Does that salad have any meat in it?"

Ziva nodded. "Yes, it's a chicken salad."

"You're going to need to leave it here. There are bears around here, I don't want them to get a whiff of the chicken and come and see where it is."

"I didn't even think about that," she admitted. "I'll just leave it here then," Ziva decided somewhat sadly. She _was_ still hungry and it was nearing lunchtime.

* * *

Once the team had reached Myers' fishing hole, they began scouring the site, checking for any possible evidence. Tony had been assigned to look on the bank of the water while Ziva and Gibbs had gone off on their own to scavenge the wooded areas.

While Tony was fishing around the area, his eyes went to a small budding yellow flower. It had multiple tiny flowers on each stem and looked to be very delicate. He had never seen anything quite like it before so he squatted down next to it to get a better look. After examining the flower for a few moments more, he quickly picked the flower. Tony was a bit startled when even the root came out of the ground but shrugged it off then quickly headed out of the woods.

Once Tony reached the parked car, he immediately found what he was aiming for. In her rush to get moving to search for evidence, Ziva had left her salad on top of the car knowing it was a secluded area and no one would help themselves.

He hurriedly lifted the clear, plastic lid then put the flower inside, root and all, hoping the gesture would put a smile on his partner's face. Tony made sure not to linger around there for long. If Gibbs came back and noticed he wasn't there, he knew he'd be dead.

Ziva had left no leaf unturned and still couldn't find anything that was out of place. She figured no one had even been in these parts of the woods for many, many years. As she began to navigate her way back to the fishing hole, a tree root that was above ground tripped her and she went tumbling to the ground. Moaning, she mentally made sure she was okay then carefully stood up, wiping off her clothes. Putting a hand to her forehead she noticed that her elbow was bleeding pretty heavily so she pressed her hand to it, trying to stop the bleeding as she turned to walk towards the car before going back to join her team.

Still holding her arm, Ziva opened up the car's door and pulled the first aid kit out of the glove box. After she had finished tending to her elbow, she was about ready to head back when her stomach growled. Checking her watch, her eyes nearly bugged out when the dial read nearly 2 pm. She knew she couldn't go on like this much longer so she grabbed her now lunch off the car's roof and sat down in the car's passenger seat and took off the lid.

A big smile crossed her face when she saw what her partner had done. Some days she wanted to throw Tony out of a window but most of the time she appreciated what he tried to do for her. Settling the flower onto her lap, she quickly ate her salad then began her journey back to the fishing hole.

* * *

The trail the team had made going to the hole the first time Ziva figured was a little bit over a mile so as long as she kept up a quick pace she'd make it in about eight minutes. While she was walking she was amused by the squirrels jumping from branch to branch around her and the cardinals circling overhead.

As she was nearing her destination, she could feel her breathing was becoming labored. Slowing down to a stop she checked her pulse and was worried to find that it was very rapid. Figuring it was just from not eating for so long, she took a deep breath then continued on. For each step she took, it became harder and harder to breathe. Ziva was beginning to get really worried; she knew this kind of thing didn't happen because of low blood sugar, especially after she had just eaten.

She was beginning to be able to hear Gibbs and Tony talking and as she neared them, she realized it was her they were talking about. Ziva tried her best to speed up before whatever going on with her took its toll. Being careful not to trip over anything and dodging thorns to the best of her ability she cut through the woods as quickly as she could.

Ziva's legs were starting to buckle and her vision was beginning to become blurred. Finally reaching the opening that led to the fishing hole, Ziva desperately went over to Gibbs. The two men immediately realized something was really wrong when Ziva nearly fell into Gibbs' arms. Gibbs put his arm securely around her waist then looked into her hazed eyes, trying to get her attention. "Hey, Ziver, look at me. What happened?"

She did her best to comply, but her muscles were becoming extremely weak and her breathing was getting more labored by the second. Doing her best to hold her own weight, she desperately held onto her boss' shoulders. "I don't know what happened—I just wanted lunch."

Gibbs wondered what she meant but didn't want to waste time getting her help. Tony had been glued to the spot he stood, completely shocked by what was happening. He had never heard or seen Ziva like this.

While he was lost in thought, Gibbs looked over to his left where Tony was standing. "DiNozzo, take Ziva. Help her up the ridge. I'll get the gear and the evidence."

Without saying a word, the agents quickly rushed into action. Tony helped Ziva's arm around his neck and they started towards the car. Gibbs quickly passed the two to unlock the car and to get into an area with cell service to give the hospital a heads up. Soon, Ziva became too weak to keep up with Tony's hurried pace so he swiftly picked her up wedding style and ran towards the car.

Gibbs had everything ready for the two when they reached the vehicle, so Tony helped Ziva into the backseat then ran around to the other side. Sliding into the back, he helped Ziva lay down and she rested her head on his lap. A few moments later, Gibbs sped off to the hospital that was nearly forty minutes away. Ziva was still gasping for air but now that she was lying down, it was a bit easier for her to talk. Noticing this, Tony took any opportunity he had. "Ziva, what happened to you?"

Very confused, she shook her head. "I don't know, I cut my arm so I…I came up to the car to clean it up. I was hungry so I hurried up and…and I ate my salad then headed back towards the fishing hole. When I was about a half a mile away everything started getting blurry, really blurry and it was harder and harder to walk."

"Are you allergic to anything?" Gibbs asked from the front seat.

"Not that I know of," Ziva answered, trying to keep her breathing as even as she could.

It didn't take long for it to become harder for Ziva to speak. She was trying her best to stay calm but it was harder to breathe and her muscles became so weak she didn't even know if she could lift her own arm.

Tony was doing his best to stay calm himself so he wouldn't scare Ziva and soon, she fell into a listless sleep. Once he was sure she was asleep, he gently ran his hand across her hair hoping it would help her feel better even if she was sleeping. Guessing the next few hours were going to be intense, he spent the rest of the ride holding tightly onto her over all the bumps trying to keep her as comfortable as possible.

* * *

"DiNozzo, just sit down," Gibbs said gruffly as he was sitting by a window in the waiting room.

"I can't, Boss. I'll just stand right back up again. I can't take all of this waiting."

"I know. It's not easy."

"What do you think is taking so long?" Tony asked, still pacing.

Shrugging his shoulders, he let out a deep breath. "They're probably still trying to figure out what happened. In my years of experience I've never seen anything like that happen to a perfectly healthy woman."

"What if she isn't healthy? What if she was hiding something from us?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Ziva wouldn't do that, and if she was she would have told us on the way here."

"You think?"

"Yes, I do. Now shut up and sit down," Gibbs ordered with a slight smile.

Leaning back in the chair Tony began to let his thoughts take over. He began to think back to the weeks before trying to figure out if she had done or eaten anything different. While Tony was lost in thought, Ziva's doctor came out to give them an update.

After shaking hands with the two agents, the physician introduced himself. "I'm Doctor Reynolds." Checking his chart, he looked to Gibbs. "Miss David is doing okay but she won't be out of the woods until she wakes up," he said bluntly, obviously ready to go home.

Tony's heart dropped but he stepped forward. "What happened to her?"

"Somehow she came into contact and ingested poison from a western water hemlock. What's strange is this plant is, pertinent to its name, indigenous to the west coast. It's highly poisonous and will almost always kill even cows that graze and eat it."

Tony cocked his head to the side and straightened up to his full stance. "Are you saying that Ziva is a cow?"

The doctor noticeably rolled his eyes. "No, Agent DiNozzo. It's a plant that commonly grows around swamps or marshes. The toxicity of the water hemlock is high enough to take down an animal as big as a cow but it more commonly affects sheep. But, as shown in this case, it's very dangerous for humans to ingest. Most of the time, however, people know when to stay away from it." The doctor added, almost trying to annoy Tony even more.

Gibbs stepped in, hoping to calm Tony down. "What can be done for her?"

"At this point we're just going to try and keep her rested. We also have an IV in her; we're going to try and flush it out her system."

Tony intently looked to the doctor. "Can we see her?"

"Right now she is asleep, which is for the best," he added. "But I don't see why not as long as you are quiet and don't bother her. Like I said, she won't be out of the woods until she wakes up on her own and doesn't show any more signs of the poison affecting her. She's in room 361." Nodding at the two agents, the doctor went to deliver news to another family.

Tony looked to Gibbs as he headed towards the elevator. "Aren't you coming?"

"I have to go back to NCIS and catch McGee up on what's going on. We are still in the middle of a case," he reminded Tony. "I also need to give Abs the evidence we found."

"I'm going to keep an eye on Ziva," Tony said confidently as he continued up to her room.

Knocking softly on the door, Tony let himself in. He was happy to find out that there was no hospital staff in the room and it was just him and Ziva. Noticing she was still asleep, he sat down in the chair next to her bed. After a long afternoon and knowing Ziva was next to him, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Coming off the elevator with their box of evidence, Gibbs stopped in front of the plasma after dropping the box on his desk. "Whadda got, McGee?"

Standing up next to his boss, Tim grabbed the remote. "Well, the interview with his girlfriend was pointless, she didn't know anything except she suspected he was running around with another girl, nothing exactly relevant. What I really found was in Myers' phone records. After I ran them, I found that there was an unusual amount of rather lengthy calls made to his brother, Sean. After more digging into David's credit card and bank records I found there were three huge deposits and two of them were over a million bucks. But what's interesting is there were six even bigger payments to his brother."

Gibbs wrinkled his brow. "Where'd the money come from and why was he giving more than he had to his brother?"

"Still trying to figure that part out." After pausing for a few moments, McGee continued. "Boss, what happened to Tony and Ziva? Are they still looking for evidence?"

"No, Ziva is in the hospital."

A shocked then worried expression crossed Tim's face. "What happened?"

"She came into contact with a poisonous plant."

"Is she okay?"

"We're not sure yet, but she's strong. She'll be alright."

Tim worriedly rubbed his shoulder out of habit. "Is there anything I can do? I mea—"

"Just do your job. Tony is doing what he can for her."

Nodding, McGee sat back down and got back to work.

* * *

Dropping off the evidence to Abby's lab and consoling her that Ziva was going to be okay, Gibbs went back upstairs to his desk to try and get some leads on their case before going back to the hospital.

* * *

Meanwhile at the hospital, Ziva was beginning to come out of a deep sleep. As she was beginning to open her eyes and wake up, she tried to stretch out her muscles which was only answered with excruciating pain. Stifling a yelp, she settled back against the hard mattress. Slightly turning her head, she realized that Tony was fast asleep in the chair next to her. With a smile gracing her face, she contented herself with looking out of the window and letting the dusk light soothe her skin.

Awhile later, Tony began to come out of his nearly unconscious state and saw that Ziva was now awake. Not quite sure what to say, he cleared his throat.

Turning her head towards him, she smiled. "Hey sleepyhead."

"I'm not the sleepyhead around here. I was just copying you!" After a few moments of awkward silence, he looked at her intently. "Are you feeling any better? I mean, if it helps, you look better."

Ziva shrugged her shoulders. "It is easier to breath but my muscles are pretty sore. The IV has been helping quite a bit. The nurses told me what happened—that I ate something poisonous. I still don't know what it could have been."

"I know you've probably already been asked a million times today, but did you eat anything different?"

She shook her head. "Just the salad I bought before work. I buy it a lot of times for lunch on regular days, I mean, I've had it tons of times before. I don't know what would have been different about this time." A smile crossed her face. "Except this time it had a pretty flower on the top."

Tony mimicked her smile. "I thought that would help you have a better day, I guess I was wrong."

Ziva suddenly became very serious. "Wait a minute, Tony. Where did you find it?"

Thinking for a moment, he shrugged his shoulders. "Just around the fishing hole, there were a lot of wild flowers growing there but I liked that one the best, so—"

"—the doctor didn't tell me much, but he did tell me that the plant is a _water_ hemlock. Tony, that flower could have been what it was," she said, hoping she was right.

Tony shook his head. "How? I mean, you didn't eat the flower, did you?"

Ziva leaned her chin on her hand. "No, I didn't. I took it off and laid it on my lap. Is the flower itself dangerous or is it the root? I know in Mossad we were trained that the poison in plants usually comes from the roots." After thinking for a moment, she continued. "But you didn't take the whole thing out of the ground, did you? I know I only saw the flower itself."

Tony rubbed his forehead as he became pale. "I remember the whole thing came out of the ground. Gosh, Ziva. I—I didn't…"

"I suppose if you pulled too hard the root could have detached from the blossom and got mixed into the salad itself." Ziva reached over and placed her hand on his. "Tony, you didn't know and I am going to be fine. The doctors were able to get the IV in me quick enough. As long as I keep fighting the best I can, I'll be back to work next week!"

"I should have never—"

"Hey, stop that. I really appreciated what you did; I still do! It's not every day I get something like that from my goofball partner."

Nodding his head, he leaned over and gave her a hug, extremely relieved that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Ziva ended up being right, she was back into work the next week and they were already on a new case. It seems David Myers and his brother, Sean had been stealing from the mine that Sean worked at. Apparently Sean thought his boss was onto him so he gave the money to his brother, but David chickened out and tried to start transferring it back into his brother's account.

Once Sean knew for sure that he was about to be turned over to the police, he went to confront David and in trying to explain what was happening, things got nasty. After some further investigation to David's house, the team found he had a strange interest in the water hemlock and they figured he would have wanted to plant some in his favorite spot. In the end, Sean was put into jail with only the count of fraud. Gibbs knew that killing his brother was an accident so he let Sean off the hook.

From then on, Tony was sure to have a freshly cut rose on Ziva's desk every morning for the reminder of what could of happened, but didn't.

* * *

_A/N: Guess what? This is my 10th story! I know it's not HUGE but it's big for me considering I never imagined I'd be writing! Thank you all for being such great readers! ~Lynn D._


End file.
